You fill my lungs and take away the air [Global Examination]

Chapter 11: Into the dark below

Since 922 had been a little late, and having also wasted some time going back to their rooms so 922 could unpack, by the time they reached the common room, where there was food set out for invigilators to have their breakfast, there wasn't much of anything remaining.

The cereal was mostly gone, as were the pancakes, so 922 hastily filled up his plate with a slice of cake and a colorful assortment of the few remaining fruity pastries as 154 grabbed himself some congee, which had, oddly enough, been virtually untouched.

"You're not coughing that much now. Feeling any better?" 922 grinned at him, as they both settled down at an empty table in a quiet corner of the common room, "Oh, you remember that tea that I was telling you about? The one that should help with your throat? Maybe I'll make some for you later."

154 didn't reply. He was still in the midst of eating, and 922 was well aware of 154's usual stance of no talking while eating, lest he choke on something.

Choke on something indeed, 154 thought to himself, being far too busy trying not to choke on yet another flower petal that had somehow made its way up his throat while he had congee in his mouth.

154 couldn't cough it up and spit it out; there wasn't any way for there to be flower petals in his food, and spitting out a disgusting wad of congee with a flower petal would make it far too obvious what 154's affliction was. And so, he had no other choice than to pretend that he was simply chewing up some chicken or pork (he honestly couldn't tell, all the flavor had long since been boiled out of the meat).

It was probably the worst thing he had ever eaten since becoming an invigilator.

Finally swallowing his mouthful of congee (as well as the flower petal; at least it wasn't in his lungs anymore), 154 nodded, "Yeah, herbal tea sounds good. Chamomile, right?"

"And peppermint." 922's eyes gleamed brightly, as if he was elated that 154 had actually been listening to every single word he said, "The combination sounds a bit weird, but it's actually not too bad."

154 hummed in agreement. Chamomile and peppermint indeed sounded like an odd combination... but 154 would gladly drink whatever 922 gave him; it was made by 922, after all, so it couldn't be horrible, even if he was just experimenting with things.

He idly brought another spoonful of congee to his mouth, before noticing 922 reaching out with his own spoon, "Hmm?"

"Let me try."

154 didn't even ask why. He just pushed bowl over, letting 922 take a small spoonful of his congee, watching as the taller man brought the spoon to his mouth.

Though, he probably should warn him that it doesn't taste the best...

922's brows furrowed, his mouth twitching, and he stuck his tongue out in what seemed like disgust.

"Blegh. How do you even eat this?" 922 winced, hastily grabbing a fruit tart from his own plate and popping it into his mouth, a couple of crumbs littering the sides of his mouth, "It's so... bland? It's literally tasteless. No wonder no one touched the damn thing."

If 154 didn't have any food in his mouth, he would have snorted in amusement; 922 was just an absolutely adorable dork.

Instead, 154 just took some time to swallowed his food, before shrugging, "I already took it. Not going to waste food."

922 frowned slightly, looking rather conflicted.

On one hand, 154 knew for a fact that 922 had a bit of an issue with food; it was rare for examinees to have access to edible food during examinations, and even when they did... more than often, they were usually traps by the examinations' NPCs in order to ensnare these poor examinees.